LIFE IN THE ARTS - Artist, Anne Marchand delivers news from the Washington, DC Arts Scene

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Thursday, July 16, 2009

International Arts & Artists invites you to come HOME

this Friday, July 17!Featuring Drew Anderson

Sign-up for poets is at 6 p.m.The open mic begins at 7 p.m.

$5 for non-members of International Arts & ArtistsFree for members of IA&AFree for performing poets

Special guest host Simone Jacobson, the founder and original host of HOME. Jacobson was born in Phoenix, Arizona where she emerged as a performer under the tutelage of internationally renowned choreographer, Hodgie Jo. While at the University of Maryland, she studied dance and became a member of the professional hip-hop dance company, Culture Shock DC (CSDC), serving as the first director of their junior dance company, Future Shock. Jacobson was the founder/director of the Urban Poets Society, a traveling collective of spoken word poets in DC, MD, and VA. She also founded/directed UMD's first hip-hop dance company, PHUNKtions, which is still active and hosts an annual hip-hop dance competition. Today, Jacobson is the Director of The Cipher at Words Beats & Life, a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming individual lives and whole communities through hip-hop. She is also pursuing an MA in Arts Management at American University.

New Orleans, Louisiana-bred hip hop artist, spoken word poet, host, screenwriter and high school teacher Drew Anderson, aka "Droopy the Broke Baller," utilizes his talent in innovative ways to connect with audiences big and small via the avenues of art and education. A fixture in the D.C. spoken word scene for more than 10 years strong and two-time DC/Baltimore National Slam Team member, Anderson has a writing resume that includes two solo publications and numerous collaborative projects. He is a co-founder of the award-winning Straight, No Chaser Productions film company, dedicated to giving voice to underexposed characters and lending reality to unconventional worlds.

As a performance artist and host of the ever-popular "Spit Dat" set at Mocha Hut, Anderson is known lovingly as "The Black Weird Al Yankovich" for his laugh-laden parodies of the music world's catchiest contributions. We are fortunate to have him as our feature this month, as he was contemplating running for president but decided instead to "give his boy Barack a shot."